Outsourced

There is a certain way of making movies about India – a tradition that has descended from great directors like Louis Malle and Richard Attenborough that helps us appreciate movies like Born-into-brothels, city of joy. Most of these movies present us the abject poverty of India, the absolute penury of its people. Yet, there seems a way out of this dejected existence – one that leads to happiness despite the misfortune of disease and untimely death.

Words may not be enough to express the genius of Louis Malle or Attenborough, but somehow too much water has flown down Thames since that image of India was believed in. The wilderness in East that we knew India as has experienced some major changes since World War II. With globalization, it is transforming into something else … for better or worse.

I would remember this movie not because of what it had to say about outsourcing but because of its somewhat accurate representation of India. There are things about India that are despicable- to most Westerners. But the way the movie approached the subject was not through insulting humor the way American comedies usually do, but instead with an entertaining exploration into the very land of mystery. Although mild it is a comedy, but the script seemed very much educated about how India really is. That it never mixed up any Arab stereotype with the Indian ones is both surprising and commendable for an American movie.

The first half of the movie that takes time to build up the image of India perceived by a foreigner is actually quite accurate. There are things unbearable and overwhelming about India, but much the way the protagonist discovers, it all becomes much easier when you lose yourself into the wilderness that India is. Holi, a festival in India, is seen as a a metaphor to that - an act of curiosity met with a deeper involvement.

Of course, it is the wilderness after all that forms the appeal of India. There is this whole set of rituals, mythologies, beliefs and practices that evolved with complete disconnection from the West and offer an alternate reality to the foreigner. This dualism of disgust and curiosity flows parallel in the movie and achieves a sort of resolution in the end. There are very few movies that have chosen to explore this interest in India, without getting into yoga, kamasutra and henna.

This movie does not aspire to do in cinema what the book world-is-flat did in popular literature. It is not trying to tell you that the world is changing to the advantage of the Third world or argue on whether capitalism is the only hope for the poor. It mildly makes fun of this whole world that corporate culture has given us when it pokes fun at imitation of American accents and at how that becomes a career skill for some. It looks at outsourcing as the outcome of this commoditization of human experiences altogether. I was made to feel that outsourcing is a by-product of uneven growth that our current economic systems result in. The resolution is probably through not letting oneself become a product of one's circumstances – be it corporate policies or greed for money.

That resolution could've been expressed much better way- but unfortunately the movie fumbled in the second half. If I weren't really impressed with the first half, I might not have finished watching it. Sometimes it even appeared whether the movie was meant to be a comedy or something else. Still, overall this makes for an interesting experiment with India.

I had an absolute blast watching this movie today. It was funny, moving and most of all, sincere. It would have been very easy for the filmmakers to fall back into stereotypes while writing and shooting this movie, but they skillfully steered clear of any pitfalls that plague so many other movies out there, especially in this genre.

I got the chance to see this movie at a special screening at UW in Seattle today and join in a Q&A session with the writers (and director) John and George, Ayesha, who plays Asha, and a few of the producers. John, the director and co-writer, mentioned he had spent quite some time in Nepal and India during his student years. And although the story itself is a fictional one, the cultural shocks and experiences Todd goes through were largely based on John's own experiences during his time abroad. This seems to make for a very honest take on the nuances of this story. Luckily the movie not only focuses on Todd's shock of arriving in a completely new culture. The local people that Todd deals with on a daily basis also find they need to adjust to Todd's American way of running a call center. This makes for a balanced telling of a story about cultural differences and, maybe more importantly, the similarities.

It may not be a groundbreaking movie by any blockbuster standards, but the sincerity seems to be coming straight from the heart. And that's something you rarely see in movies nowadays. This movie deserves all the attention it gets. So go see it! And if you like it, tell your friends.

One of the happiest surprises of this year's Toronto International Film Festival was this delightful, beautifully shot comedy, which is not only funny and touching but actually offers a few insights into Indian culture as well. Josh Hamilton is terrific as Todd, an American businessman who is less than thrilled to learn his Seattle office is going to outsource its work to a call center in India. He's even more perturbed when his boss makes it clear that Todd will be in charge of training the Indian workers to efficiently handle orders while sounding as American as possible; that's important since the firm markets all-American knickknacks, such as miniature flags, hot dog toasters and Wisconsin cheese hats. The culture clash that results is beautifully played and wonderfully written. This has the potential to be another MY BIG FAT Greek WEDDING, if it's handled properly. I hope it is. I've been a big fan of Hamilton for years and he deserves a big hit.

Having just returned from a 3 week trip to India I found this movie to be absolutely delightful and so funny and so true. It was like I was transformed back to India. The culture shock when one first arrives in the country was beautifully portrayed as he stops to get a drink and then is over run with hawkers on the way to get a taxi and ends up in a motorized three-wheeler and the ride of his life. One has to experience it to know the feeling. Even the little nod of his head as he speaks has it nailed! And anyone who has had to call for computer help and gets their call sent off to a center in India will especially see the humor in this movie.

"Outsourced" is a genial and charming fish-out-of-water tale about a young American telemarketer who learns that his job is being shipped overseas. To add insult to injury, the novelty company he works for has decided to send him to India to train his own replacement. The movie is a bit predictable and unoriginal at times, but only a complete curmudgeon could be totally immune to its spell.

Josh Hamilton is immensely likable as the nice-guy protagonist, and Ayesha Dharker is lovely and radiant as the freethinking co-worker with whom he has a clandestine dalliance. Indeed, all the actors are first-rate, and the striking settings and iridescent colors add to the movie's appeal.

Moreover, the culture clash aspects of the story are dealt with in droll and subtle terms, as the initially "superior" foreigner begins to loosen up and immerse himself in all that this strange and exotic world has to offer.

It's a dicey business trying to make a feel-good comedy out of a subject as controversial and serious as outsourcing, but writer/director John Jeffcoat somehow manages to pull it off.